Big 12 Tourney – Bears vs Jayhawks CBB Handicapping Prediction
Kansas (27-5) crushed Texas A&M in their last Big 12 tourney game and they have a legit shot to get a #1 seed in the Big Dance, but to do so they may have to beat Baylor (26-6) in this semifinals match up.
Venue/ Stadium: Sprint Center, Kansas City, MO
Time/Date: 7:30 PM EST Friday, March 9, 2012
NCAA Odds From: Bovada
Moneyline: OFF
Spread (ATS): Kansas -6.5
Over/Under: OFF
No. 11 Baylor Bears vs. No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks Preview
The Jayhawks easily beat the Bears in both regular season match ups this season and they have won 9 straight. NCAAB lines have Kansas as 6.5-point favorites in this game.
In the Big 12 tourney quarterfinals Kansas beat Texas A&M 83-66 and Baylor beat Kansas State 82-74.
This season Kansas is 16-14-1 ATS with an O/U record of 11-18-2 and Baylor is at 11-14 ATS with an O/U record of 13-12.
It is interesting that the only team in the Big 12 that Kansas has never beaten is Baylor.
The Bears will have to play solid D facing a Kansas team that shot over 61% from the floor in the win over Texas A&M and hit 10 of their 15 3-pointers. Tyshawn Taylor and Thomas Robinson combined for 35 points in the win over A&M and G Elijah Johnson scored a career high 26 points.
The big match up in this game is between Player of the Year candidate Robinson (18 ppg 11.8 rpg) from Kansas and Perry Jones III (13.7 ppg 7.6 rpg) of Baylor. Robinson got the best of Jones in both match ups in the regular season and if that happens against Kansas will be advancing to the conference tourney finals. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The Bears also shot the rock well in their quarterfinal win and Jones will need scoring help from G Pierre Jackson (13.5 ppg) and Quincy Acy (12 ppg). G Brady Heslip scored 13 points in the win over Kansas State and it is key that the backcourt of the Bears shoot well and also control the tempo of the game.
Baylor cannot only look to contain Robinson, as they also cannot give the Jayhawks open looks from deep.
In some betting trends for this Big 12 semifinals match up Baylor is 1-8 ATS in their last 9 games following a S.U. win, 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record, and they have an Over record of 5-1 in their last 6 games as an underdog.
Kansas is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games as a favorite of 0.5-6.5 points, 1-5-1 ATS in their last 7 games following a ATS win, and they have an Under record of 6-1 in their last 7 games as a favorite.
Jason’s Pick: It is always hard to beat a team 3 times in a season, but that is exactly what the Jayhawks will do, as they will win this game and cover the spread.
